Holyrood elections 2026: All you need to know about Edinburgh Southern
Labour and SNP both look to tactical voting in changed constituency
The south of Edinburgh has gradually become established as strong Labour territory, represented at Westminster by Ian Murray and at Holyrood by Daniel Johnson.
Both undoubtedly benefit from anti-SNP tactical voting by people who might otherwise support the Tories or Lib Dems, but they have both built their own reputations.
Big boundary changes this time mean the Edinburgh Southern constituency has moved further south, keeping most of Morningside, but losing Bruntsfield, Merchiston, Marchmont and The Grange, while adding areas like Fairmilehead, Gracemount and Southhouse.
What the effect of the changes might be remains to be seen, but Daniel Johnson takes comfort from the fact that the redrawn Holyrood constituency is "completely within the Westminster seat".
He says: "People know that myself and Ian Murray have a very strong record of representing south Edinburgh. And people are very focused on not allowing the SNP to regain the Scottish Parliament seat."
He says that knocking on doors, people are concerned about a multitude of issues. "These are really difficult times and there are a lot of conversations about how difficult everything is - the conversations range from potholes to the Strait of Hormuz and anything in between.
"Education is probably the biggest. People are very frustrated at the way Edinburgh gets treated, the underfunding of local services in Edinburgh."
And it's a similar story with the health service. "There has been a big population increase and people really see the stresses and strains in NHS Lothian. We need to address that - we have to get the funding for NHS Lothian sorted out because it doesn't reflect that rise in population."
Mr Johnson is enthusiastic about Labour's manifesto. "In every section we have things that will immediately set about fixing the mess, things that we'll do in the first few months, things that will get the basics right that we'll do in the first couple of years and then the things which are about building a better future which are longer term. Talking people through our manifesto gives them a degree of confidence that we have that plan. “
He says he had a big hand in the economy and skills chapter. "I'm really passionate about trying to make sure young people have the opportunity not just for work, but to build careers."
The SNP is well aware that Labour gets tactical votes from supporters of other unionist parties, and it hopes that it can likewise count on the votes of Green supporters since there is no Green candidate in the constituency.
SNP candidate Deidre Brock says: "We're receiving very positive responses on the doors and I have a brilliant team of activists working very hard. We're getting some pretty firm views on the lay of the land and they are very encouraging. The disappointment people feel with the UK Government under Keir Starmer is quite palpable."
Ms Brock is a former city councillor and served as Deputy Lord Provost before becoming MP for Edinburgh North & Leith from 2015 until 2024. She agreed to stand in Edinburgh Southern after the previous candidate, Sally Donald, had to step down following revelations that she was being investigated over benefit claims.
"We had a fantastic manifesto launch the other day," she says. "There are some great policies in there, like the new GP walk-in clinics, extending childcare and the £2 bus fare cap.”
She says the condition of the roads is a hot topic. "We have put aside our £350m 'Better Surfaces' fund to contribute towards that. And if I get into parliament I would like to see that ring-fenced for that purpose by councils, that's a personal view."
She also highlights the promise of a full feasibility study on reopening the South Sub for tram-trains. "I think that's pretty exciting."
And she welcomes the pledge of a Culture and Arts Bill, continued funding of an extra £100m a year for culture, and a pilot Scottish Artists Minimum Income, based on an Irish scheme to give targeted support to practising artists and creative workers to give them the space to develop their craft. "We do have a lot of creatives and artists in Edinburgh and they deserve our support."
Ms Brock found herself in the headlines after she was accused of suggesting at a hustings that reading, writing and arithmetic were not important. She says: "It's a completely ridiculous assertion that any senior politician would think that. My point was that the modern world is so much more complicated than simply requiring reading, writing and arithmetic, as the Tory candidate seemed to suggest, and that students need a wide range of skills."
Tory candidate Marie-Clair Munro, a Morningside councillor, says the issues people raise with her on the doorstep are the NHS, the cost of living, taxes, gender recognition reform, women's rights, “obviously potholes, which comes up all the time” and education. “There’s a lot of chat about Deidre Brock's comments and how children need to get the basics right.”
She says tax is also a big issue. “People get squeezed more and more by taxes. Some people have said to me, if I get a promotion at work why am I going to take it because I get hammered with tax.”
And she claims unionist voters are “nervous about Keir Starmer” over whether he might give in to demands for a second independence referendum and wary of Reform since some of its candidates are “pro-independence”.
But both Ms Munro and Lib Dem candidate Jane Alliston Pickard tacitly acknowledge that many of their natural supporters may tactically opt for Labour in the constituency vote, while voting for their own party on the list - the peach ballot paper.
Ms Munro says: “People in Edinburgh South are well aware of how to vote. The peach Tory vote is holding.”
And Ms Alliston Pickard says: “I trust people to look at the ballot paper, understand what's going and make the best decisions in their own interests. If they don’t want to have the SNP they will make a decision on that tactically but they know they can vote Lib Dem on the second vote.”
A former fund manager who retrained as a mental health counsellor, Ms Alliston Pickard joined the Lib Dems when she came back to Edinburgh in 2010 after a spell working abroad and became more active after Brexit.
She says the NHS and mental heath are among the issues people talk about on the doorstep. “And there is interest in why the council is underfunded. The money has been drained away from the council. It’s vital decisions are made locally - and you can't have decisions without proper funding.”
Reform candidate Charlie Turner, who is self-employed with a consultancy doing technical engineering, says he is a former Labour voter but had never joined a political party until signing up with Reform about a year ago.
He says it was Reform's economic policy which persuaded him to join. "In Scotland, you almost have to be apologetic if you're successful. If you've done well, all I'm hearing from other parties is those with the broadest shoulders should be taxed more. Instead of trying to tax people and making them leave, I would rather engage with them and get their guidance."
Marc Wilkinson is standing for Edinburgh and East Lothian People, saying if elected he would vote in parliament as instructed by members of the party on an issue-by-issue basis. He describes the party whip system as “totally undemocratic and potentially corrupt” and wants another 100 parties to be formed across the country to operate in the same way as he proposes.
Candidates
ALLISTON PICKARD, Jane Patricia - Scottish Liberal Democrats
BROCK, Deidre Leanne - Scottish National Party (SNP)
JOHNSON, Daniel Guy - Scottish Labour Party
MUNRO, Marie-Clair - Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
TURNER, Charles - Reform UK
WILKINSON, Marc - Edinburgh & East Lothian People
2021 result
Daniel Johnson Lab 20,760
Ashley Graczyk Ind 43
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